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Gatwick urges caution over third-party car park operators

Gatwick Airport in the UK has advised passengers to use only airport-approved car parking operators when parking before they travel, after a non-approved company failed to return vehicles to more than 100 passengers.

Gatwick First Parking, a meet-and-greet parking company with no connection to Gatwick Airport, reportedly ceased trading last week with no prior warning, leaving vehicles abandoned and their rightful owners unable to retrieve them.

The airport has since used its own number plate tracking system to help trace many of the missing cars, and has reissued parking guidance to passengers which strongly recommends the use of either official on-airport parking or companies registered with Gatwick’s off-airport Approved Operators Scheme.

Run in partnership with the British Parking Association, the scheme was introduced to offer Gatwick passengers more confidence when choosing off-airport parking, and only features suppliers that have adhered to the approval processes of Trading Standards’ Buy with Confidence program.

Chris Banford, senior commercial operations manager at Gatwick Airport, said, “We sympathize with any of our passengers who put their trust in Gatwick First Parking and have been affected by its abrupt collapse and the lack of information provided in the aftermath.

“This company had absolutely no affiliation to Gatwick Airport and we strongly recommend that passengers should avoid non-approved firms going forward. By using official on-airport parking or companies in our Approved Operators Scheme instead, passengers will eliminate the risk of experiencing a distressing incident like this in the future.”